by Ben Mezrich
And no wonder; his boss’s change in fortune over the past decade, and especially over the past few months, had been immense, the stuff of epic. This ending, a bathroom door locked from the inside, an apparent suicide by hanging, followed by the inexorable pull of gravity that had brought the body to the floor, capped a tragic spiral that probably couldn’t have ended any other way.
But still, standing there in the doorway, seeing his boss lying there, cold, bruised, and twisted, it was hard not to wonder: could things really have been as simple as they seemed? And if so, how the hell had it come to this? How the hell had it all come crashing down?
The corpse on the floor had gone from being one of the richest men in the world to selling off his belongings—paintings, houses, cars—to pay off bills both professional and personal. His divorce from his second wife had cost him somewhere in the order of a quarter billion dollars. The lawsuit he had just lost had cost over one hundred million more, and there was a chance he was also on the hook for his opponent’s legal feels, equally immense. He had split with his longtime partner, the Georgian, and had just finished battling his dead best friend’s widow in court for a piece of her inheritance. In France, the government had taken most of his assets, at the behest of the Russian government that was trying to recoup what they accused him of having looted from a variety of businesses.
And his financial problems were only part of his descent; he had gone from being one of the most powerful kingmakers in modern history to living in a sort of gilded exile. Bodyguards, armed security, bulletproof cars and boats and planes, all were a way of life for a man who had survived multiple assassination attempts—some real, some threatened, some perhaps imagined.
Yet somehow he had always recovered, clawing his way back into history again and again. Perhaps the only real surprise here, in this second-floor bathroom, was that this dead man’s third act had dragged on so long.
Whatever the truth, the man in the dark suit knew that these things were well beyond his pay grade. He was simply a bodyguard, who no longer had a body to guard. Eventually, the police investigators would arrive. They would come with radiation detectors and chemical sniffers, they would dust for fingerprints and scan for any signs of foul play. And no doubt, they would find nothing that would lead them to any conclusion beyond the most simple and obvious.
Still, no matter what the police officers found, no matter what their eventual inquest into this apparent suicide concluded, the man in the dark suit was certain that his boss wasn’t killed by a scarf around his throat, a fall that broke his neck, or even by way of a sip of polonium-laced tea.
Boris Berezovsky was killed months before his corpse hit the bathroom floor, felled by a judge’s gavel. A judgment not simply of a civil case—even the biggest in recorded history—but of an epic story, and the unique, ambitious, sometimes delusional man at its core.
EPILOGUE
* * *
FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES AWAY, in an empty, wood-paneled office, atop a cavernous desk, a dark red folder lay open, revealing monogrammed pages covered in a scrawl of handwriting—letters and words carefully applied, though running together in some places, mimicking their author’s style of speech. Natural light spilled across the pages, mid-morning sun leaking into the room through a sliver between the thick, heavy drapes that covered one of the office’s massive windows. Sunlight caught, refracted, and then reflected by the metallic coat of arms hanging high above the desk itself—a glorious double-headed eagle, talons on one side clutching a magnificent scepter, claws on the other clutching an ornate orb. Each head bore a matching crown, with a third crown even higher.
A few feet away from the desk stood an athletic man in a perfectly tailored suit, hands clasped behind his back. He didn’t relish mornings; nor did he particularly like to spend time in this office, though it lay at the heart of the country he loved, and had vowed years earlier to fiercely protect. But sometimes, this office—and that enormous desk—were an unavoidable part of his job.
As for the letter in the folder—which he had indeed read, with a mixture of amusement, pity, and maybe even disgust—well, that, on the other hand, was perfectly avoidable. Whether it would end up filed away somewhere or at the bottom of a drawer in that desk, he hadn’t yet decided.
But whatever the case, he had more important things to think about than a sad, desperate, old man’s letter, the etchings of an Oligarch who had enjoyed a spectacular rise—and an equally dramatic fall. In the end, in this room, in this place of true power—it was nothing more than ink on paper.
He had a long day ahead of him. A hundred problems to solve. A dozen people to meet. A handful of minor fires to put out.
A nation to rule.
He crossed the distance to the desk in two purposeful steps, and closed the folder, obscuring forever the handwritten pages inside.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
* * *
ONCE UPON A TIME IN Russia began with a phone call from the director/producer Brett Ratner, who told me I needed to get on a plane to London to meet someone with an incredible story to tell. I could not have imagined the adventure—both wonderful and terrifying—that would begin the minute I stepped off that British Airways flight; so first and foremost, I am indebted to Brett, whose energy and genius made this book possible. Likewise, I am extremely thankful for the generosity of my unnamed sources, who were willing to open up their lives to me during the year it took to research this book. I am in awe of the events described in this narrative, and am grateful to have been able to hear much of this story firsthand.
I am immensely grateful to Leslie Meredith, my wonderful editor; Donna Loffredo, associate editor; and the entire team at Atria/Simon & Schuster. I am also indebted to Eric Simonoff and Matthew Snyder, agents extraordinaire. Many thanks to James Packer, John Cheng, and everyone at Ratpac for pushing me to write the best book of my career.
As always, I am indebted to my parents, and to my brothers and their families. Special mention to Trina Palance, who helps my family run smoothly. And to Tonya, Asher, Arya, and Bugsy—this is all for you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
* * *
Ben Mezrich graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. Since then he has published twelve books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Accidental Billionaires, which was adapted into the Academy Award–winning film The Social Network, and Bringing Down the House, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies in twelve languages and became the basis for the Kevin Spacey hit movie 21. He has also published the national bestsellers Ugly Americans, Rigged, and Busting Vegas, and Bringing Down the Mouse, a book for young readers. He lives in Boston.
BEN MEZRICH is the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Accidental Billionaires, which was adapted into the Academy Award–winning film The Social Network, and Bringing Down the House, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies in twelve languages and was the basis for the hit movie 21. He lives in Boston.
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ALSO BY BEN MEZRICH
Bringing Down the House
Ugly Americans
Busting Vega$
Rigged
The Accidental Billionaires
Sex on the Moon
Straight Flush
The X-Files: Skin
Fertile Ground
Threshold
Reaper
Bringing Down the Mouse
Seven Wonders
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
* * *
Andrews, Suzanna. “The Widow and the Oligarchs.” Vanity Fair, October 2009.
Associated Press. “Berezovsky’s Billions: How the Tycoon Lost So Much.” March 26, 2013.
BBC News. “In Full: Litvinenko Statement.” November 24, 2006.
———. “Timeline: Litvinenko Death Case.” July 27, 2007.
Campbell, Duncan, and Tom Parfitt. “Confusion Envelops Litvinenko Even As He Goes to the Grave.” The Guardian, December 7, 2006.
Chazan, Guy. “Russian Tycoons Face Off in Court.” The Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2011.
China People’s Daily. “Russia Publishes Kursk Sailor’s Death Note.” November 3, 2000.
Cowell, Alan. “Russian Ex-Spy Lived in a World of Deceptions.” The New York Times, December 3, 2006.
European CEO. “Oleg Deripaska and the Russian Aluminum Wars.” January 24, 2012.
Gardham, Duncan. “Berezovsky v Abramovich Trial: How Boris Berezovsky Lost a Fortune.” The Telegraph, August 31, 2012.
Goldfarb, Alexander, translated by Catherine A Fitzpatrick. “Berezovsky, an Admirer’s View.” The Interpreter, May 7, 2013.
Heintz, Jim. “Videotape Shows Litvinenko Feared Retribution.” The Moscow Times, May 24, 2007.
Helmer, John. “What the Butler (Well, Roman Abramovich’s Cook) Saw.” Business Insider Australia, November 21, 2011.
Jordan, Mary, and Peter Finn. “Russian Billionaire’s Bitter Feud with Putin a Plot Line in Poisoning.” The Washington Post, December 8, 2006.
Judah, Ben. “Behind the Scenes in Putin’s Court: The Private Habits of a Latter Day Dictator.” Newsweek, July 23, 2014.
Kara-Murza, Vladimir. “Boris Berezovsky, the Man Who Made—and Tried to Unmake—Putin.” World Affairs, March 28, 2013.
Kramer, Andrew E. “Out of Siberia, a Russian Way to Wealth.” The New York Times, August 20, 2006.
Kramer, Andrew. “$13 Billion Sibneft Deal Fulfills Gazprom Quest.” The New York Times, September 29, 2005.
Landau, Elizabeth. “What Polonium Does to the Body.” CNN, November 29, 2012.
Laurent, Lionel. “The Mysterious Death of Georgia’s Richest Man.” Forbes, February 14, 2008.
Leake, Christopher. “Battle of the Oligarchs: The Amazing Showdown Between Roman Abramovich and His Arch Rival.” Daily Mail Online, October 6, 2007.
Lucas, Edward. “The New Cold War. Putin’s Russia and the Threat to the West.” New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
Mcallister, J. F. O. “Crime: The Spy Who Knew Too Much.” Time, December 10, 2006.
McFee, Robin, B DO, MPH, FACPM, and Jerrold B. Leikin, MD, FACEP, FAACT, FACP, FACOEM, FACMT. “Death By Polonium 210.” Response Guide for Chemical and Radiological Threats.
Nowak, David. “Oligarchs Take Spat to the Streets of London.” The Moscow Times, October 9, 2007.
Parfitt, Tom, and Steven Swinford. “Boris Berezovsky’s Last Interview: ‘There Is No Point in Life.’ ” The Telegraph, March 24, 2013.
Sixsmith, Martin. “The Litvinenko File, Politics, Polonium, and Russia’s War With Itself.” New York: Macmillan, 2007.
Storr, Will. “Bad Blood: How Radioactive Poison Became the Assassin’s Weapon of Choice.” Medium.com, November 26, 2013.
The Moscow Times. “Putin Warns Oligarchs with Cudgel.” October 27, 2000.
The Wall Street Journal. “Roman Abramovich by Land, Air, and Sea.” September 18, 2009.
Volodarsky, Boris. “Alexander Litvinenko: A Very Russian Poisoning.” The Telegraph, December 2, 2009.
Volodarsky, Boris. “The KGB’s Poison Factory, From Lenin to Litvinenko.” Chicago: Frontline Books, 2009.
Wines, Michael. “ ‘None of Us Can Get Out’, Kursk Sailor Wrote.” The New York Times, October 27, 2000.
Zhegulev, Ilya. “Russian Oligarch Boris Berezovsky’s Final Interview: ‘I Want To Go Home.’ ” Forbes, Russia. Taken March 22—republished March 27, 2013, by Clare O’Connor, Forbes Staff, as translated by Denis Pinsky and Dmitri Slavinsky.
INDEX
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A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
A
Abramovich, Irina, 196–97, 243
Abramovich, Roman, 82, 113–22, 173–74, 196–201
aluminum interests of, 132, 147, 184, 199, 245, 249–50
background of, 45–47, 50, 113, 115, 121, 186
Berezovsky’s exile and, 182–83, 186–87, 192, 197
Berezovsky’s first meeting with, 46–47
Berezovsky’s relationship with, 45–50, 73, 76, 87–88, 116–18, 122, 130, 147, 174, 182–87, 198–201, 208, 211, 218, 231, 236, 245–46, 248–49, 251
Berezovsky’s suit against, 235–37, 239, 243–52, 254, 258–59
Caribbean cruises of, 44–48, 56, 118, 182
Chechen conflicts and, 117–18
elections and, 87–88, 132
final payments to Berezovsky of, 197–201, 209, 231, 245–46
Goncharova’s package and, 70, 76–77
Goncharova’s relationship with, 69–71
Krasnoyarsk aluminum production and, 119–22
Kursk incident and, 174, 187
oil interests of, 47–50, 56, 72–73, 113, 132, 245
ORT acquisition of, 183–87, 192, 200, 236, 245, 248–49
Patarkatsishvili’s relationship with, 115–16
physical appearance of, 182
Putin and, 147, 174, 184, 187, 245, 248–49
Sibneft and, 71–73, 75, 77, 87–88, 97, 114–17, 147, 184, 186, 199, 218, 231, 245, 248–49
wealth of, 208–9, 231, 243–44
advertising, 31, 53–55, 58–60, 72
Aeroflot, 96–97, 172–73, 192, 206–7
and criminal allegations against Berezovsky, 131, 147, 172, 185
Alexandrovka Dacha, 144
Berezovsky’s eviction from, 173
All-Russia Party, 132–34
aluminum, 83
Abramovich and, 132, 147, 184, 199, 245, 249–50
Berezovsky and, 120, 122, 245, 249–50
in Krasnoyarsk, 119–22
Aluminum Wars, 119, 122
Antibes, 116, 198
Berezovsky’s exile and, 179–82, 185–87
Antigua, 43–44
Aven, Pyotr, 44–45, 248
AvtoVAZ, 11, 13–15
B
bankers, banking, 24, 74–75, 77, 82, 200
Aven and, 44
Berezovsky and, 15, 45, 84, 86
Gusinsky and, 32–33, 48, 86, 132, 146
Khodorkovsky and, 74, 204, 207
Most Bank and, 32–33, 132, 146
Barsukov, Mikhail, 91
Berezovsky, Boris Abramovich, 9–17, 27–36, 43–56, 79–91, 114–18, 127–35, 140–48, 157–65, 171–75, 179–87, 195–201, 206–11, 223, 229–41, 243–59
Abramovich’s final payments to, 197–201, 209, 231, 245–46
Abramovich’s oil interests and, 47–50, 56
Abramovich’s relationship with, 45–50, 73, 76, 87–88, 116–18, 122, 130, 147, 174, 182–87, 198–201, 208, 211, 218, 231, 236, 245–46, 248–49, 251
Abramovich sued by, 235–37, 239, 243–52, 254, 258–59
access to Kremlin of, 67, 76, 85, 117–18, 128, 132, 142, 147, 157, 160, 174, 184, 199, 211, 250, 254
Aeroflot and, 96–97, 131, 147, 172–73, 185, 192, 206–7
aluminum interests of, 120, 122, 245, 249–50
and assassination of Listyev, 63, 65–67
attempted arrest of, 48, 64–67
attempted assassinations of, 17, 19–25, 28–29, 35, 48, 62, 79, 85, 110, 147, 174, 180, 200, 210, 259
attempted extradition of, 206, 209–10
background of, 12–14, 32, 45
, 61, 181, 186, 200, 207
banking interests of, 15, 45, 84, 86
car business of, 10–11, 13–16, 29, 31–32, 48, 106–7, 142, 181
Caribbean cruises of, 43–48, 50, 56, 72, 118, 148, 182
Chechen conflicts and, 96–97, 117–18
company headquarters of, 9–11, 13
criminal allegations against, 64–67, 131, 147, 172, 185, 192, 200, 259
death of, 257–59
demise of, 252, 259, 262
elections and, 34, 49, 53, 72, 80–91, 96, 105, 125, 128, 131
exile of, 171, 174, 179–83, 185–87, 191–93, 197, 201, 206–8, 210–11, 245, 255–56, 259
Family and, 32, 35, 45, 81, 91, 97, 109, 117, 122, 125, 130–31, 143
financial problems of, 217–18, 230–31, 233, 252, 258–59
Forbes sued by, 211, 254
FSB complaint of, 103, 105, 108–10
FSB-ordered assassination of, 99–103, 108, 110, 129, 200
Goncharova’s package and, 70–71, 76–77
Gusinsky’s relationship with, 32, 48, 83–84, 86, 146, 174
injuries of, 21, 27–29, 32, 82, 110
Khodorkovsky’s arrest and, 206, 210
Klebnikov’s murder and, 254–55
Kommersant and, 109, 172
Korzhakov’s relationship with, 29–32, 35, 147, 174
Krasnoyarsk aluminum production and, 120, 122
Kursk incident and, 157–59, 161–62, 167, 174, 187
Lebed’s relationship with, 118, 120
Listyev’s relationship with, 56, 64
Litvinenko’s death and, 229–31
Litvinenko’s exile and, 190–91
Litvinenko’s imprisonment and, 124, 129, 143
Litvinenko’s poisoning and, 227
Litvinenko’s press conference and, 109–11
