In 1988 he graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow University with a degree in petrochemistry. In 1991 he graduated from graduate school there, and in 1993 he defended his dissertation.
From 1991 to 1994 he worked at Moscow State University as a junior researcher.
In 1992[clarify], together with Alexander Mamut and Vladimir Gruzdev, he founded the Slavyanka company on the basis of store No. 2 of the Oktyabrsky ORPO, which became the basis of the future chain of supermarkets “Seventh Continent”.
In 1993, after he began trading oil, he met Roman Abramovich, who was engaged in the supply of petroleum products from the Komi Republic.
Under the patronage of Roman Abramovich, in 1994 he became deputy general director of Komineft and at the same time its general representative in Moscow. At the same time, he led the Masco company, a joint venture between Komineft and RAO International Economic Cooperation, which was also one of the key shareholders of Komineft.
In the same year, the KomiTEK holding was created on the basis of Komineft, the Ukhta Oil Refinery and Kominefteproduct.
In 1995, he ran as an independent candidate for the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
In 1996-1997, Berezkin headed Komi TEK - Moscow (KTM, sales structure of KomiTEK), which, on behalf of Sibneft, exported oil from Noyabrskneftegaz.
In 1997, he consolidated the management levers of KomiTEK in his hands and became Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company. In the same year, he acquired Euroseverneft (38%) and SB-Trust (29%), providing guarantees from the National Reserve Bank (NRB).
In 1997-1999, he worked as Chairman of the Board of Directors of CJSC JSCB Ukhtabank.
From 1997 to 2005, Chairman of the Board of JSC Euroseverneft (ESN).
In 1999, he organized the sale of the KomiTEK holding to LUKoil. The experience of Euroseverneft (G.V. Berezkin’s company) with KomiTEK has shown that external management, carried out by a third-party company specially attracted for this purpose, is the only way to bring the enterprise out of the crisis and thereby reliably protect the rights of shareholders of a company facing difficulties.
In 2000, it was decided to invite ESN Energo as a management organization. The decision was made by the meeting of shareholders of OJSC Kolenergo on June 14, 2000 in agreement with RAO UES of Russia. By this time, Kolenergo was in a pre-bankruptcy state: overdue accounts payable exceeded 1.3 billion rubles.
In 2003, the ESN energo company managed not only to stabilize the situation, but also to prepare Kolenergo OJSC for reform. The introduction of an effective financial accounting and budgeting system and streamlining of energy sales activities allowed the company to fully repay overdue accounts payable and improve financial performance.
In 2003, Berezkin acquired a 5% stake in RAO UES, and a year later resold it to Gazprom at a profit.
From 2004 to 2007, member of the board of directors of RAO UES.
In 2006, he sold 49% of the Rusenergosbyt company (Russian Railways) to the Italian ENEL and more than 200 thousand clients, including systemically important corporations in Russia, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the population.
From 2006 to the present, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ESN group of companies.
In 2009, in partnership with Russian Railways, through the company Energopromsbyt, in which 49% belongs to the ESN group, he acquired 76.92% of the shares of the energy company TGK-14 (the enterprises are located in Transbaikalia).
Since 2010, he has been a member of the board of directors of JSC Russian Railways, Chairman of the Electric Power Industry Commission at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
Work in the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
Since 2000, member of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, since 2008 - member of the bureau of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, since 2010 - chairman of the Electric Power Industry Commission of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
At the meetings of the commission chaired by G.V. Berezkin, proposals were considered to amend legislative acts to ensure the effective development of the electric power complex of the Russian Federation and eliminate a significant increase in electricity prices for industrial consumers. Issues were also discussed about the possibility of concluding and correctly accounting in the trading system of the wholesale market of free bilateral contracts for the supply of electricity, participation in the wholesale market of end consumers, as well as independent energy sales companies in the territory of the non-price wholesale market. The possibility of normatively establishing the right of consumers to choose a tariff for transmission services, as well as eliminating excessive penalties for exceeding the declared capacity value, was considered.
Own
Owned and controlled by Berezkin:
- 50.5% of the shares of Rusenergosbyt (According to the company directory of the Business portal www.vedomosti.ru: Grigory Berezkin's Unified Social Network Group (51%), ENEL (49%)).
- Uyarsky railway oil loading terminal (NT-service LLC).
- Engineering companies "Engineering Center UES" and "Energoauditcontrol".
- 38% of shares of TGK-14 (through Energopromsbyt, where Berezkin’s ESN group owns 49%).
Among the media assets:
- Publishing house "Komsomolskaya Pravda".
- Media company "RZD-Partner".
- Energy Today magazine.
- Metro newspaper.
Scandals
According to Novaya Gazeta, Grigory Berezkin has a very controversial reputation in business circles: for example, former Minister of Fuel and Energy of the Russian Federation Viktor Kalyuzhny actually accused Grigory Berezkin of fraud related to oil production, which led to the abolition of the KomiTEK company: “Who Was he previously involved in oil production in Komi? Grigory Berezkin, who in his entire life never came close to a single well, but only manipulated cash flows. His team didn’t care about technical production - they created dozens of structures and tore the entire KomiTEK to pieces!”
In 2002, the state decided to strengthen control over the Yakut diamond mining concern ALROSA, but faced protest from local authorities. Grigory Berezkin tried to make money from this situation by starting negotiations on the acquisition of a 5% stake in ALROSA from the Social Guarantee Fund for Military Personnel under the Russian Government. In response, the Ministry of Property Relations decided to completely liquidate the fund. The dispute continued until the end of 2002 and was resolved in favor of the state after the personal intervention of Alexei Kudrin.
Berezkin tried to acquire shares of the NTV television channel, but in the end Gazprom-Media gained control over the media. The Rusenergotelecom company, which is 75% owned by the ESN Group, is trying to take over frequencies for the deployment of 4G communications in Russia. According to experts, UST Group is trying to use administrative resources for the acquisition.
The Rusenergosbyt company, owned by Grigory Berezkin, supplied electricity to the Gazprom concern at a price 60% higher than the market value.
Family
Married, has four children.
Grigory Berezkin owns a giant hangar in Moscow, where he stores dozens of vintage cars and a trampoline, which he sometimes likes to jump on.
The personality of this major businessman is little known in the public sphere, although his financial fortune is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. Who is he, Grigory Viktorovich Berezkin? Forbes ranked him 146th in the ranking of the richest entrepreneurs in Russia the year before. At that time, his profit was estimated at $0.7 billion. One can only wonder how Grigory Viktorovich Berezkin became the head of the large commercial structure “Unified Social Network” and made it prosperous and powerful. However, the scope of his business interests has a wide range, and over the years of entrepreneurial activity he has experienced not only ups, but also downs. But despite repeated business fiascoes, Grigory Viktorovich Berezkin was able to amass a huge financial fortune. What was remarkable in his biography? Let's consider this issue in more detail.
Curriculum Vitae
Berezkin Grigory Viktorovich is a native of the Russian capital. He was born on August 9, 1966. The future entrepreneur learned the value of money while still a teenager. At the age of 14, Grigory worked part-time by cleaning an underground passage. Moreover, the salary he received (160 - 200 rubles) seemed like a fortune to him: not every adult could boast of such money.
Having received his matriculation certificate, Grigory Viktorovich Berezkin decided to become a petrochemist and entered the Faculty of Chemistry at Moscow State University. In 1988, the young man received a specialist diploma. But he decided to start a career at a university and entered graduate school. Three years later he graduated, and in 1993 he successfully defended his dissertation. In parallel with writing his scientific work, the young man worked at the department of chemistry, petroleum and organic catalysis. But after some time, Grigory Viktorovich Berezkin, whose biography is not known to everyone, changed his mind about developing his scientific career.
First steps in business
In the early 90s, a graduate of the Moscow State University Department of Chemistry decided to try his hand at entrepreneurship. But where to start? An idea matured in his head: to organize the production of cables for oil submersible pumps. Waste raw materials were lying unattended in almost all the deposits of Komi and Siberia. Grigory Viktorovich and like-minded people took the “outdated” cable, melted the copper, and made a new “wire” from it. Customers for the product were immediately found: oil workers. The aspiring businessman agreed with them on a barter - he gave them cable, and they gave him “black gold.”
He resold the resulting oil to foreign markets.
Meet the “great combinator”
Success in the oil business was obvious, and after some time fate brought Berezkin together with Roman Abramovich himself, who made money from fuel supplies from Komi. On the recommendation of the oligarch, Grigory Viktorovich was offered the position of assistant manager in the large commercial structure Komineft. He agreed, despite the fact that things in the company were far from going well. She was going through a serious financial crisis. The situation was complicated by the fact that an accident occurred at one of the sections of the oil pipeline. To minimize its consequences, Komineft was forced to borrow huge amounts of money from the EBRD and the World Bank. It was necessary to correct the financial situation of the enterprise, and Berezkin took over the function. The company carried out an issue of securities, thanks to which it was possible to significantly increase the authorized capital of Komineft. This measure made it possible to oust several private investors from the company.
"Masco"
In parallel with the administration of the Komineft structure, Berezkin was in charge of affairs at the Masco company, which was a joint product of RAO International Economic Cooperation and Komineft. Soon the latter underwent reorganization by merging with other companies: Kominefteprodukt and
As a result, a new legal entity arose - KomiTEK.
An attempt to get into big politics
In the mid-90s, a graduate of the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University decided to become a people's representative and independently nominated himself as a parliamentarian in the lower house of the Russian parliament. Few people were surprised that a major businessman, oilman Grigory Viktorovich Berezkin, was aiming to become a deputy. His reception office was located within the boundaries of the University constituency No. 201, from which he, in fact, ran. But the entrepreneur failed in the elections, losing the parliamentary seat to his competitor, economist Pavel Bunich.
"KomiTEK"
In 1996, Grigory Viktorovich took the reins of the KomiTEK - Moscow company, whose profile was the export of “black gold” produced by Noyabrskneftegaz. After some time, Berezin became the full owner of the KomiTEK company, becoming the head of its executive body. After this, the businessman acquired a stake in the Euroseverneft company (38%) and a stake in the SB-Trust company (29%).
"ESN"
In 1997, Berezin became the head of the executive body of the Euroseverneft company (“ESN”). He held this position for eight years.
In the late 90s, the businessman sold the KomiTEK structure. It went to Lukoil.
Then the businessman met with Anatoly Chubais and asked to give him control over the RAO subsidiary Kolenergo. He agreed.
In 2000, the entrepreneur supported the initiative for ESN Energo to become the managing element of the Kolenergo company, which at that time was close to bankruptcy. After some time, the businessman managed not only to bring the RAO subsidiary out of the crisis, but also to prepare it for transformation. The enterprise successfully tested an advanced system of financial accounting and competent budgeting, and the energy sales process was modernized with maximum efficiency.
Great deals
In 2003, Grigory Viktorovich Berezkin (“ESN”) buys a 5% stake in RAO UES and resells it to Gazprom at a colossal profit. Soon the businessman joined the Board of Directors of the largest energy supplier in the country.
In 2006, the entrepreneur made a number of transactions that brought him huge profits. Firstly, he sold almost half of the Rusenergosbyt enterprise to a foreign investor. Secondly, as the head of the Board of Directors of ESN, Grigory Viktorovich bought the advertising agency Reklamotiv, the printed publication Sakvoyazh-SV, and an Internet portal. All of the above acquisitions were united under the leadership of the Media Partner company, which after a while began to invest money in the energy industry. At the end of the 2000s, ESN, on a parity basis with JSC Russian Railways, became the owner of a controlling stake in the energy company TGK-14.
In 2010, Berezkin became a member of the executive body of JSC Russian Railways.
Damage to business reputation
One way or another, the biography of the businessman turned out to be flawed. Berezkin's reputation was tarnished by scandals related to his activities. The former head of the Ministry of Energy and Fuel, Viktor Kalyuzhny, publicly spoke about fraudulent schemes used by the businessman in oil production. He referred to the liquidation of the KomiTEK structure, reporting that Grigory Berezkin had not produced a single barrel of oil in his life, and he “made financial capital in this business” on his clever ability to maneuver cash flows using fraudulent methods.
Many people were perplexed by the story of the Yakut concern Alrosa, which specializes in diamond mining. At the beginning of the 2000s, the federal authorities decided to strengthen their influence in this enterprise, but the local administration refused to assist them in this.
Grigory Viktorovich decided to “warm his hands” on this matter. He planned to buy out 5% of the shares of the Alrosa enterprise. The Social Guarantee Fund for Military Personnel under the Government of the Russian Federation acted as a potential seller. Officials from the Ministry of Property Relations interfered with the situation and threatened to abolish the Fund. The conflict of interests lasted until 2002, and after the intervention of Alexei Kudrin, the state “won.”
Some are still outraged that Rusenergosbyt, owned by Berezkin, for some reason sold electricity to Gazprom at a price that was more than 2 times higher than the market price. This question has been raised several times.
Family status
Is Grigory Viktorovich Berezkin happy in his personal life? His family is his wife and children, with whom he is certainly happy.
He tries to devote time not only to business, but also to his offspring and wife. Who is she, how did Berezkin Grigory Viktorovich meet her? The businessman's wife, Elena, is engaged in art and is the owner of the Line Art gallery. They fell in love as students and got married in their last year at the institute. The hero of our article was not involved in any love scandals.
Grigory Berezkin/Grigory Berezkin
Source of wealth: electric power industry, investments
Place of residence: Moscow
Family status: married, four children
- In the early 1990s Berezkin's company collected the used cable, melted down the copper and produced new cable, which was supplied to oil workers in exchange for their raw materials.
- Capital The UST group, owned by Berezkin, owns the Rusenergosbyt company and other assets in the energy sector, and the Komsomolskaya Pravda publishing house.
- Number Rus-Energosbyt has 200,000 clients (shareholders are the Unified Social Networks Group and Enel).
- Statistics The free newspaper Metro is the leader among daily newspapers in terms of audience in Moscow (1.1 million people). Komsomolskaya Pravda's "Tolstushka" has the second result among weekly newspapers in Russia (5.5 million people).
- Deal In the summer of 2012, Russian Railways sold its stake in TGK-14.
Right hand:
Mikhail Andronov
President of Rusenergosbyt company
He has been working in Berezkina structures since 2000. Supervises projects related to the electric power industry. ?Represented Berezkin’s interests in RAO UES and its subsidiaries.
The name of the head of the ESN group of companies, Grigory Berezkin, is little known to the general public, although in Forbes magazine's list of the richest people in Russia, he has a fairly high rating with a personal fortune of $980 million. It should be noted that in the “Golden Russian Hundred” he is one of the youngest representatives of large Russian business.
Abramovich's old comrade
Grigory Berezkin graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University in 1988. Lomonosov. He worked there at the department of chemistry, petroleum and organic catalysis. In 1993, he even defended his dissertation in the specialty “Petrochemistry”. But this was the end of his scientific career, and his rise in the oil business began.
Berezkin joined the cohort of so-called external managers, of whom there were not many in the early 90s. It was later, after the default of 1998, that they multiplied and, without creating any business of their own, began to cut down the assets of once powerful systemically important banks and bankrupt enterprises.
Berezkin actively became involved in management in the oil industry back in 1994 as deputy general director of the oil producing company Komineft, and later, in 1997, as general director of the KomiTEK-Moscow joint-stock company. In mid-1997, Grigory Berezkin was appointed chairman of the board of directors of NK KomiTEK. At the same time, the management company Evroseverneft, headed by Berezkin, was involved in the management of KomiTEK in order to bring the company out of the crisis, which in 1999 was renamed ESN.
This is the time to note that Berezkin’s main partner in the oil business was Roman Abramovich. According to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, having brought Abramovich closer to the Yeltsin “family”, Boris Berezovsky entrusted to him all the financial and raw material flows of Sibneft. First of all, Abramovich gave all of Sibneft’s exports to the KomiTEK-Moscow company, which was headed by his old comrade Grigory Berezkin, for a whole year.
KomiTEK-Moscow was famous at that time for the highest percentage of “shrinkage and wasting” during oil transportation. “Shrinkage and shrinkage” left a good taste in the pockets of the exporters themselves. The capital accumulated at the first stage was subsequently used to buy out a controlling stake in Sibneft. It turns out that if Abramovich, as is commonly believed, was the “wallet” of the Yeltsin “family,” then Berezkin was Abramovich’s “wallet”? Later, Abramovich and Berezkin seemed to quarrel because the latter went over to the side of LUKOIL.
The former head of the Ministry of Top of the Russian Federation, Viktor Kalyuzhny, once in one of his interviews (Novaya Gazeta dated 02/04/2004) described the oil period in the career of our hero as follows: “Who in Komi used to be involved in oil production? Grigory Berezkin, who in his entire life never came close to a single well, but only manipulated cash flows. His team didn’t care about technical production - they created dozens of structures and tore the entire KomiTEK to pieces.”
However, a team of professional PR specialists for a long time convinced public opinion of the completely opposite. In particular, it was Grigory Berezkin who tirelessly increased and increased the capitalization of KomiTEK and brought it to half a billion dollars.
As a result, it seems that this is exactly the amount (details of the transaction have not yet been disclosed) for KomiTEK in 1999 by the LUKOIL company. The deal took place despite the fact that KomiTEK, under the management of Grigory Berezkin, had large debts to local budgets and to Western creditors, and ended 1998 with losses. Nevertheless, the increase in LUKOIL’s assets due to the takeover of KomiTEK and its subsidiaries amounted to more than 15 percent, and its proven oil reserves amounted to more than 25 percent. However, at the same time, LUKOIL received four billion KomiTEK’s debt in rubles and two hundred million (in dollars) ) foreign loan, as well as 700 hectares of land not cleared of oil and 250 kilometers of pipelines that required replacement of old pipes - the result of the “effective” management of Grigory Berezkin.
Be that as it may, the shareholders and directorate of KomiTEK received substantial commissions - approximately 30-40% of the transaction. The exact numbers have not yet been announced. In any case, it was enough for Grigory Berezkin to become the owner of one of the largest collections of antique and rare cars in Russia - about a hundred rarities.
Owner of factories, newspapers, locomotives
The UST Group was created in 1990. Specializes in energy investments, anti-crisis and strategic management. Owns shares in ENEL ESN Energo, which manages the North-West CHPP, the Rusenergosbyt company, and the Uyar oil loading station. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the group, Grigory Berezkin, is a member of the Board of Directors of RAO UES.
The Unified Tax Service states that media is one of the priority areas for business development. Last year, it acquired the publishing house "RZD-Partner", which owns the magazine of the same name, an Internet portal, the advertising agency "Reklamotiv" and the magazine "Sacvoyage-SV". These assets were merged into the Media Partner holding. “The acquisition of KP is a new stage in the development of Media Partner; it will significantly increase its capitalization,” the Unified Social Tax statement says.
The publishing house "Komsomolskaya Pravda" publishes the newspapers "Komsomolskaya Pravda", "Soviet Sport" and "Express Newspaper". The main asset of the publishing house is the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" with the largest circulation among national Russian newspapers - 30 million copies per month. Its turnover for 2006 was, according to its own data, $130 million.
09/13/2004, “Just give me a tower…”
The story of a man who knows how to manipulate someone else's oil to become a millionaire
Nikolay Koshelev
The name of the head of the ESN group of companies, Grigory Berezkin, is little known to the general public, although in the recently sensational list of the richest people in Russia by Forbes magazine, he has a fairly high rating with a personal fortune of $830 million. It should be noted that in the “Golden Russian Hundred” he is one of the youngest representatives of large Russian business: Berezkin is only 38 years old. How did this relatively young man, not being a wealthy heir, manage to amass such a substantial capital in such a short period of time?
Forbes magazine does not answer this question. In general, Berezkin’s business biography contains a lot of fog, blank spots and myths generated by PR agencies, the services of which he, apparently, used quite often. Therefore, let’s try to figure out the origin of his capital ourselves.
Abramovich's old comrade
Grigory Berezkin graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University in 1988. Lomonosov. He worked there at the department of chemistry, petroleum and organic catalysis. In 1993, he even defended his dissertation in the specialty “Petrochemistry”. But this was the end of his scientific career, and his rise in the oil business began.
Berezkin joined the cohort of so-called external managers, of whom there were not many in the early 90s. It was later, after the default of 1998, that they multiplied and, without creating any business of their own, began to cut down the assets of once powerful systemically important banks and bankrupt enterprises.
Berezkin actively became involved in management in the oil industry back in 1994 as deputy general director of the oil producing company Komineft, and later, in 1997, as general director of the KomiTEK-Moscow joint-stock company. In mid-1997, Grigory Berezkin was appointed chairman of the board of directors of NK KomiTEK. At the same time, the management company Evroseverneft, headed by Berezkin, was involved in the management of KomiTEK in order to bring the company out of the crisis, which in 1999 was renamed ESN.
This is the time to note that Berezkin’s main partner in the oil business was Roman Abramovich. According to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, having brought Abramovich closer to the Yeltsin “family”, Boris Berezovsky entrusted to him all the financial and raw material flows of Sibneft. First of all, Abramovich gave all of Sibneft’s exports to the KomiTEK-Moscow company, which was headed by his old comrade Grigory Berezkin, for a whole year.
KomiTEK-Moscow was famous at that time for the highest percentage of “shrinkage and wasting” during oil transportation. “Shrinkage and shrinkage” left a good taste in the pockets of the exporters themselves. The capital accumulated at the first stage was subsequently used to buy out a controlling stake in Sibneft. It turns out that if Abramovich, as is commonly believed, was the “wallet” of the Yeltsin “family,” then Berezkin was Abramovich’s “wallet”? Later, Abramovich and Berezkin seemed to quarrel because the latter went over to the side of LUKOIL.
The former head of the Ministry of Top of the Russian Federation, Viktor Kalyuzhny, once in one of his interviews (Novaya Gazeta dated 02/04/2004) described the oil period in the career of our hero as follows: “Who in Komi used to be involved in oil production? Grigory Berezkin, who in his entire life never came close to a single well, but only manipulated cash flows. His team didn’t care about technical production - they created dozens of structures and tore the entire KomiTEK to pieces.”
However, a team of professional PR specialists for a long time convinced public opinion of the completely opposite. In particular, it was Grigory Berezkin who tirelessly increased and increased the capitalization of KomiTEK and brought it to half a billion dollars.
As a result, it seems that this is exactly the amount (details of the transaction have not yet been disclosed) for KomiTEK in 1999 by the LUKOIL company. The deal took place despite the fact that KomiTEK, under the management of Grigory Berezkin, had large debts to local budgets and to Western creditors, and ended 1998 with losses. Nevertheless, the increase in LUKOIL’s assets due to the absorption of KomiTEK and its subsidiaries amounted to more than 15 percent, proven oil reserves - more than 25. However, at the same time, LUKOIL received four billion KomiTEK’s debt in rubles and two hundred million (in dollars ) foreign loan, as well as 700 hectares of land not cleared of oil and 250 kilometers of pipelines that required replacement of old pipes - the result of the “effective” management of Grigory Berezkin.
Be that as it may, the shareholders and directorate of KomiTEK received substantial commissions - approximately 30-40% of the transaction. The exact numbers have not yet been announced. In any case, it was enough for Grigory Berezkin to become the owner of one of the largest collections of antique and rare cars in Russia - about a hundred rarities.
Whatever I don’t eat, I’ll bite
After a successful deal with LUKOIL, Berezkin began to be seen much more often at noisy and ridiculous New Russian parties than in the office. He became a regular at the ski seasons in Courchevel, and whiled away the summer in the town of Porto Cervo in Sardinia, popular among billionaires. He became a regular participant in rallies of expensive sports cars, and drove around Moscow in his own rare cars.
What did Grigory Berezkin try to do after the oil industry? His omnivorousness is amazing. I tried to become a shareholder of the 6th TV channel, but it didn’t work out. I intended to buy out a significant stake in the state-owned diamond company Alrosa from the Garantiya fund, but it didn’t work out. I wanted to create a holding company “Russian Pulp” - again a mistake. I tried to participate in the Moscow City construction project...
And all this at a time when Berezkin’s company ESN-Energo signed a three-year contract for the management and recovery from the crisis of the regional energy company OJSC Kolenergo, which provides a centralized supply of electricity to the Murmansk region (988.5 thousand people) and a large number of industrial enterprises throughout the Kola Peninsula.
In 2000, Kolenergo was on the verge of bankruptcy. Berezkin promised to correct the situation. In three years, his team allegedly managed to “implement an effective financial accounting and budgeting system, streamline energy sales activities and improve financial performance.” In fact, the activities of ESN-Energo in Murmansk were marked by a number of scandals and conflicts with the local administration and even the command of the Northern Fleet.
The first incident, for example, happened in July 2001, when Kolenergo OJSC officially notified the ship repair plant VMF-82 (the village of Roslyakovo, Murmansk region) about the limitation of power supply, in the floating dock of which it was planned to place the nuclear submarine Kursk after rising from the bottom of the Barents Sea "
The director of the enterprise, Vadim Churikov, said that the plant is ready to repay Kolenergo all its debts for 2001, that is, about three million rubles. To which the managers replied: “We will be satisfied with the return of all 43 million that all enterprises of the military-industrial complex of the Murmansk region owe to Kolenergo.” This blackmail almost led to the failure of the operation to raise the Kursk.
In February 2002, State Duma deputy Artur Myaki addressed the State Duma Committee on Energy, Transport and Communications with a request to understand the situation with the dispatch restrictions of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant on the part of OJSC
Kolenergo. One power unit of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant was constantly in a muted state, and its power was 440 mW/hour. This led to a significant reduction in the power of the entire station, which subsequently threatened an energy crisis in the region.
And this is instead of building a power transmission line, which would allow the sale of inexpensive electricity from nuclear power plants to Finland and Norway. According to the deputy, some managers in the fuel and energy complex acted from the position of sellers of ordinary goods and did not want to delve into the specifics of the industry, thereby explicitly or implicitly acting contrary to the regulations on the safe operation of nuclear power units.
As a result, Kolenergo shareholders prematurely suspended the powers of the general director of the management company, Grigory Berezkin. By the beginning of 2004, consumer debts to Kolenergo amounted to more than 1 billion rubles. Due to a lack of funds, Kolenergo is now unable to pay contractors who repair the company’s equipment. In other words, the power company was on the verge of bankruptcy and became essentially bankrupt.
All this did not bother Berezkin, who at the time of his resignation was more concerned with organizing the first equestrian polo tournament in Russia in 80 years. Having apparently met Vladimir Potanin in Courchevel, the manager contributed to Norilsk Nickel increasing its share in Kolenergo to a blocking stake. Gratitude in the appropriate monetary equivalent, apparently, was not long in coming?
After which Grigory Berezkin was included in the list of the richest Russians in Forbes magazine with a personal fortune of almost a billion dollars.
An example of seething laziness
It would seem, what else does a person need? A multimillionaire, and even at such an early age. Go for a ride on the Alpine ski slopes, bask in the gentle sun of Sardinia, rush in an old convertible with an open top along Rublyovka and don’t think about anything. But money is the same race, the same adrenaline, which is usually missing. Especially if a person is inclined to consider himself a genius of investment thought. Hence - new plans and projects.
As Forbes reports, since October 2003, a number of Gazprom structures began buying electricity on the wholesale market through the Rusenergosbyt company, which has recently been controlled by the same Grigory Berezkin. He doesn’t fine, but he does charge mediation fees. And these are extra costs. Electricity costs for the gas state monopoly increased by 60%. At the same time, energy tariffs increased by only 17%, and Gazprom produced 3% more gas. The increase in expenses amounted to more than $125 million.
And in Grigory Berezkin’s garage, there are probably more rare limousines. What state interests are there, what a doubling of GDP and social responsibility! What are you speaking about?
All that remains is to follow, together with Forbes magazine, the transformation of a young Russian multimillionaire into a billionaire...
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Born in 1966. In 1988 he graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, majoring in petrochemistry. In 1993 he defended his dissertation, candidate of chemical sciences.
Wife Elena. Three daughters - Anna, Sofia and Arina.
STARTING A BUSINESS
In May 1992, Berezkin, together with Alexander Mamut and Vladimir Gruzdev, established the Slavyanka company on the basis of store No. 2 of the Oktyabrsky ORPO (Leninsky Prospekt, building 61/1). This retail facility became one of the first stones in the foundation of the Seventh Continent network.
In February 1994, Berezkin became deputy general director of Komineft and at the same time its general representative in Moscow, and also headed the Masco company, a joint venture between this company and a large trader, RAO International Economic Cooperation, which was also one of the key shareholders of Komineft.
Berezkin consistently positioned himself as an anti-crisis manager. Throughout the first half of the 1990s, the Komi oil complex was under threat of bankruptcy. In 1994, there was an accident on the Vozey – Headworks oil pipeline and a large oil spill near Usinsk, for the elimination of which targeted loans from the World Bank and the EBRD were attracted. Simultaneously with Berezkin's arrival at Komineft, the consolidation of share capital begins. In 1994, the company carried out a series of issues of additional shares, increasing its capital by 15 times. These actions displeased portfolio investors because they were clearly aimed at ousting them.
During this period, Berezkin met Roman Abramovich, who was then engaged in the oil trading business in Komi. In the second half of 1994, the shareholders of Komineft, Ukhtinsky Oil Refinery and Kominefteprodukt approved the merger within the Komi TEK holding. Komineft itself already had the high status of a special exporter, and Komi TEK had the status of a government agent for supplying oil products to Komi, the Arkhangelsk region and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The business relationship between Berezkin and Abramovich has stood the test of time. In 1996 – 1997 Berezkin headed Komi TEK - Moscow (KTM, sales structure of Komi TEK), which, on behalf of Sibneft, exported oil to Noyabrskneftegaz, selling a total of 4 million tons of raw materials - 27% of the enterprise's production volume.
In 1997, Berezkin consolidated the control levers of Komi TEK in his hands. In January–April, state blocks of shares in the holding were purchased at auctions by Euroseverneft (38%) and SB-Trust (29%), providing guarantees from the National Reserve Bank (NRB). Chairman of the Board of the NRB Alexander Lebedev and Berezkin’s deputy at KTM Alexander Korsik worked together at the USSR Embassy in the UK. Berezkin retained the post of chairman of the board of directors of Komi TEK until September 1999, when the holding was sold to Lukoil. As a result of the transaction, Berezkin received a stake in Alekperov’s company. In 2001, Berezkin was included in the list of candidates for the board of directors of Lukoil from minority shareholders, but did not receive the required number of votes. In 1998, he tried to expand his presence in the oil sector, becoming a contender for the post of external manager of Rosneft, but lost to Ziya Bazhaev.
Since then, Berezkin has specialized in the electric power industry. In 1999, he shortens the name “Evroseverneft” to “UST” and after some time receives from the board of RAO “UES” a mandate to manage Kolenergo (Murmansk region) for four years.
In 2002, the UST announced plans to create a joint venture with the Italian ENEL to participate in the privatization of generating companies. Two years later, Berezkin, in alliance with ENEL, applies for a tender to select the manager of the North-West CHPP and wins. In 2007, the contract ended and the station became part of Inter RAO UES. In 2006, ENEL acquired 49.5% of the Rusenergosbyt company, controlled by the Unified Social Tax, a large wholesale electricity supplier, whose clients by that time already included Gazprom and Russian Railways. To strengthen relations with the gas monopoly, by 2004 Berezkin collected 5.3% of the shares of RAO UES in its interests. However, in 2007, Gazprom terminated the contract with Rusenergosbyt, and Berezkin was not re-elected to the board of directors of the energy holding. Only two years later, the unified social tax made up for the loss, replacing Transneftservice-S as the supplier of electricity for Transneft.
Berezkin’s cooperation with Russian Railways turned out to be more durable. In January 2006, the ESN group acquired 80% of the St. Petersburg publishing house RZD Partner with the intention of creating a publishing holding based on the assets of RZD. In mid-2008, the companies jointly acquired a 49.3% stake in TGK-14. And in November, Rusenergosbyt and Russian Railways signed a memorandum of intent providing for the supply of electricity on the basis of 15-year contracts.
CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS
Grigory Berezkin owns 50.5% of Rusenergosbyt, the Uyarsky railway oil terminal (NT-service LLC), and the engineering companies Engineering Center UES and Energoauditcontrol. Among the media assets are the publishing houses "Komsomolskaya Pravda" and "RZD-Partner", the magazine "Energy Today", the newspaper "Metro".
Through the Energopromsbyt company, the Unified Social Tax together with Russian Railways owns 76.9% of the shares of TGK-14. The last stake - 27.7% - was acquired in May 2009 from Norilsk Nickel. In Energopromsbyt, the unified social tax owns 49%.
PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS
In 1995, Grigory Berezkin was an independent candidate for the State Duma from the University constituency No. 201. He lost to Pavel Bunich, who also ran as an independent candidate, but after the elections he joined the “Our Home is Russia” faction.
CONFLICTS
In 1999, the Accounts Chamber of Russia conducted an audit of Komi Fuel and Energy Complex for 1997–1998. The auditors' report noted that the transfer of the right to use subsoil from Komineft to Komi TEK was carried out in violation of the law. In addition, the license agreements incorrectly determined the rates of payment for subsoil. The company also violated the terms of use of proceeds from the sale of an additional quota for oil exports: the proceeds were only partially used to pay off outstanding payments to the federal budget. It was also noted that the accounting documentation of Komi TEK was kept in Moscow, which prevented the tax authorities at the place of registration of the company from monitoring the correctness of calculation of payments for the use of subsoil. However, the Accounts Chamber’s report did not have any negative consequences for Berezkin.
At the beginning of 2001, the staff of the NTV television channel, owned by the disgraced Vladimir Gusinsky, made feverish attempts to avoid takeover by the Gazprom-Media holding. Berezkin organized an international investment alliance that included the funds of Ted Turner and George Soros. However, the attempt to become a “white angel” failed.
In the summer of 2001, the Continental-Invest company put up for sale a controlling stake in the Ust-Ilimsk forestry complex. The action immediately found a contender - Ilim Pulp, whose interests Berezkin undertook to represent. In exchange for assistance in acquiring the plant, the Unified National Social Network expected to receive a blocking stake in the largest Russian pulp holding. But Ilim Pulp was able to acquire only part of the share of Continental-Invest, the other went to Oleg Deripaska. This started a long conflict between Basic Element and Ilim Pulp.
In July 2001, Anatoly Chubais invited the head of Mosenergo, Alexander Remezov, to voluntarily leave his post, but was refused. Then RAO UES initiated an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to appoint a new general director. One of the contenders was Grigory Berezkin, but in the end he did not receive a single vote in his support. In 2005, ENEL and the Unified National Social Network announced their readiness to participate in the privatization of Mosenergo, but in the end the company went to Gazprom.
In the spring of 2001, Alexey Miller, who had just headed Gazprom, set a course for returning lost assets to the concern. One of them was the Purgaz company, the operator of the Gubkinskoye field, controlled by Itera. To protect its interests, Itera took out a loan from the Unified National Social Network (USTN) secured by the disputed 32% shares of Purgaz. Thanks to this, Itera managed to get Gazprom to pay the fair value of its share in March 2002.
In 2002, the federal government became concerned about strengthening state control over the ALROSA company, but faced serious resistance from the authorities of Yakutia. Grigory Berezkin tried to make money from this situation by starting negotiations on the acquisition of a 5% stake in a diamond mining company from the Social Guarantee Fund for Military Personnel under the Russian government. In response, the Ministry of Property Relations decided to liquidate the fund. The dispute continued until the end of 2002 and was resolved in favor of the state after the personal intervention of Alexei Kudrin.
CHRONOLOGY
07.1991 - 10.1994 Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, junior researcher
02.1994 - 06.1996 Komineft OJSC, Deputy General Director
1994 AOZT "Masko", General Director
06.1996 - 08.1997 CJSC "Komi TEK-Moscow", General Director
05.1997 - 09.1999 OJSC Oil Company "Komi TEK", Chairman of the Board of Directors
06.1997 - 04.1999 JSC JSCB "Ukhtabank", Chairman of the Board of Directors
02.1998 - 11.1999 Nobel Oil CJSC, member of the board of directors
06.1998 - 2000 CJSC "Sever TEK", member of the board of directors
04.1999 - 05.2000 OJSC "Ukhtabank", member of the board of directors
11.1997 - 2005 JSC "Evroseverneft" (ESN), General Director
2000 - 2005 ESN-Energo LLC, General Director
06.2004 - 06.2007 RAO "UES of Russia", member of the board of directors
2006 Group of companies "ESN", Chairman of the Board of Directors