Biography
Arkady Rotenberg is one of the richest people in Russia, with a billion dollar fortune. The entrepreneur owns the largest Russian company for the construction of gas pipelines and power lines and is a co-owner of the Northern Sea Route bank. In addition to business, the oligarch is involved in sports activities - he heads the International Judo Development Foundation and holds the post of vice-president of the Russian Judo Federation.
Arkady Romanovich Rotenberg was born on December 15, 1951 in the cultural capital of Russia into an intelligent family. The future oligarch became the first-born of his parents, Jews by nationality. From an early age, the boy was developed in a sports direction - in preschool age, Rotenberg attended acrobatics, and at the age of 12 he was enrolled in the judo section. This type of martial arts became a hobby for the guy and the main direction in his future career.
Entrepreneur Arkady Rotenberg
In the judo section, Arkady Rotenberg met the future President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, with whom the boy trained in pairs, since he was in the same weight category. The friendship spanned many years, and today Putin and his friend Rotenberg continue to maintain good relations.
There are no reliable facts about the biography of Arkady Rotenberg during his school and student years, which has become a “blank spot” for society. It is known that after graduating from school, the billionaire served in the army, after which he entered the Leningrad State University of Physical Education and Sports. Lesgafta. After graduating from university, Arkady worked as a sports coach for 15 years. The judoist trained children while heading the Leningrad Youth Sports School.
Arkady Rotenberg and Vladimir Putin
Rotenberg confirmed his professionalism in sports by defending his master's and doctoral dissertations. Throughout his career, Arkady Romanovich devoted part of himself to sports, which allowed him to become an Honored Worker of Physical Culture and Trainer of the Russian Federation.
Arkady Rotenberg is a crime boss from St. Petersburg who reached the very top
Arkady Rotenberg, one of the crime bosses of St. Petersburg who reached the very top
2004, June 9. Like thunder from a clear sky for the ears of Arkady Rotenberg, the final words of the Moscow prosecutor were heard, accusing Alexander Tugushev (chairman of the liquidation commission of the State Fisheries Committee) and Linar Zinatulin (head of the department of the Ministry of Property of the Russian Federation) of receiving bribes in the huge amount of $3.7 million. They were charged with illegally providing fish catch quotas. It would seem, how were high-ranking bureaucrats connected with the chairman of the Supreme Council of the National Judo Union? But there was a connection, and it could be called “consumer”. From now on, Rotenberg or “Putin’s former trainer” (as many publications and press liked to call him) had no “access to the body.” And no intrigues can be covered up with the bright name of the President of the Russian Federation.
Crime boss Vasily Vladikovsky (Vasya Bryansky)
Arkady Rotenberg began his “business” with the usual “protection” of stalls and tents in St. Petersburg. Then the most “trump cards” were the “Tambov” lawless men. And to this day, Rotenberg’s connection with them remains sacred. For example, Oleg Shuster - promoted by Rotenberg and who became the first vice-president of the National Judo Union and assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation - is the same Shuster or Tambov authority from the highest echelon. Along with Shuster, the authorities ruled Vasya “Bryansky”, Bob “Kemerovsky”, Styopa “Ulyanovsky” and “Khokhol” - Mikhail Glushchenko, a future State Duma deputy from the LDPR.
Crime boss Mikhail Glushchenko - Khokhol
Arkasha (let’s call our “hero” so frivolously) was not born then to hang out in the market and survive on handouts. Those who knew Rotenberg had no doubt that the self-confident scoundrel would go far. Initially, he achieved the position of general director of a judo sports club called “Yawara Neva”. Then he made sure that none other than Vladimir Putin himself became the honorary president of the club, whose services to sports easily made it possible to do this. And then Arkasha realized how easy it is to open doors with your foot. The name of the President inspired fear; no one dared to contradict the President’s Trainer Himself.
Crime boss Vladimir Belyaev (Bob Kemerovo)
Rotenberg never tired of beating his chest in public, trying to achieve his goal. For example, on Bychy Island the most delicious piece of land was transferred to a sports club for construction work. And no one challenged the decision - they thought that the President himself had a hand. It’s generally difficult to speak out against show-offs, so when Arkasha decided to become Putin’s co-author in a book on judo, there was no need to open the doors, they swung open on their own. Now it has become easier than ever to manipulate officials. Here is a conversation and by the way, “Yes, I spoke with Putin yesterday... but we know each other closely... I coached, you understand...”. And the officials simply become tame and smooth.
A man with a criminal appearance and immeasurable appetites was increasingly immersed in a game called “proximity to the First Person.” And he came closer to his own policy of promoting his “cadres”. For example, Rotenberg contributed to the appointment of Sergei Zivenko, a personality known for his scandals, to the post of general director of Rosspirtprom in May 2000. Alexey Gordeev, who was Arkasha’s “workhorse,” recommended for the post. Later, through the same Gordeev, Arkasha was “pushed” to the post of chairman of the State Fisheries Committee by the same Tugushev. It is difficult to say what specific goals were pursued in lobbying “our” people. Those close to Rotenberg were inclined to believe that friendly ties did not play a role. More than anything else, the judoist adored money, and his adoration grew in proportion to the increase in the amount of the bribe.
Arkady Rotenberg and Vladimir Putin
Of course, to be fair, it is worth mentioning that family interests also sometimes came to the fore. This happened to Igor, the son of Arkady. He got into the Ministry of Property without competition, naturally, and in almost three years managed to occupy the chairs of members of the directors of RMNTK Nefteotdacha, Rosneft and Transnefteproduct. Everyone knew that Arkasha’s son had already spent time due to childhood, but it was rumored that the minister’s chair awaited him. However, Igorek did not linger in one industry and quite recently changed it to transport. The government promoted Igor Arkadyevich to the boards of directors of the Novorossiysk Shipping Company and the Tuapse Sea Commercial Port, and then he himself (?) became a member of the board of Russian Railways. By the way, as the head of the department of transport, communications, construction and industry, Igor signed a document in 2004 listing fish farms subject to privatization. And who do you think was the curator of this issue through the State Fisheries Committee? That's right, Alexander Tugushev.
Alexey Gordeev helped Rotenberg in any way he could
Acquaintance with Putin brought Arkady to Moscow, where he diligently contributed to the creation of the NSD - the National Judo Union. And he headed the Gordeev union, and Rotenberg became chairman of the Supreme Council. He never forgot about his past, so a serious struggle began for the “state roof” against the Russian Judo Federation. The newspaper “World of News” then wrote: “Instead of popularizing the sport beloved by Russians, we got competition and a struggle for power. At first, powers were shared between the National Union and the Judo Federation, but gradually it became clear that the former was claiming complete power. The union was headed by the Minister of Agriculture Gordeev, and when he replaced Vladimir Shestakov (President of the Federation), it became clear that the scandal was hushed up by merging the two organizations into one.”
Rotenberg went too far in his desires, he dreamed too openly of the title of “gray eminence” of the Kremlin. And he no longer hesitated to emphasize his connection with the President. Once he was asked: “Does the fact that the head of state himself took patronage of Yavara Neva help?” Arkady answered: “What do you think? Our moral duty to the country and the president gives us strength. After all, Putin is a real judoka.” And then he added: “Of course, I don’t have a direct connection with Putin, but information about our successes is passed on to the right person.”
November 2006 A blocking stake in the Latvian institution Multibanka was purchased by the SMP bank of the Rotenberg brothers.
End of 2006 Rotenberg was awarded the silver Order "For Sacrificial Service". This order was established in 1998 by the All-Russian social movement “Orthodox Russia”. The movement is led by Alexander Burkin, chairman of the Central Council, dealer of church utensils, former KGB officer and president of the union of antique dealers.
April 2008 In the offshore Kadina Ltd, whose owners are Skorobogatko (owner of 50.1 percent of the shares of NCSP) and Ponomarenko, Arkady bought a 20 percent share. This means that 10 percent of NCSP's share goes to Rotenberg. According to calculations based on the current capitalization of the port, it turns out that Rotenberg had to pay at least 10.5 billion rubles for this share. In general, Rotenberg is the founder of at least twenty LLCs. The largest asset is the Northern Sea Route Bank. Bank report for 2006 provides information about 70 percent ownership of the authorized capital by Arkady and his brother Boris. Interfax-CEA data provided the following figures for 2008: capital - 2.4 billion rubles, SMP Bank assets - 16 billion, profit - 650 million.
Summer 2008 Arkady acquired 5 construction companies through his offshore companies, including Lenspetsstroygaz.
For the past five years, all companies that are directly associated with Arkady Rotenberg have continuously received government orders. The profit amount is 1 trillion rubles.
Similar materials
- The true story of Aslan Gagiev
- Sergey Mavrodi and MMM
- Maniac Golovkin
- Maniac Yuri Tsyuman
- Governor or the criminal world: who controls...
- Prison everyday life. Part 12. Fenya
- How does the funeral services market work?
- Mikhail Abyzov, Chubais, Rao UES and a villa in Italy
Business
In the early 90s, during the collapse of the USSR, Arkady Rotenberg went into business, which was related to the organization of martial arts competitions. In addition, the judoka co-founded a number of companies that generated sufficient income to create a large-scale business.
Arkady Rotenberg
Along with commerce, Rotenberg helped Putin, who by that time already served as head of the KVS in the St. Petersburg mayor's office, practice judo - Arkady continued training with the future Russian leader as a sparring partner. Thanks to this, the Yavara-Neva judo sports club, founded by Rotenberg based on Putin’s idea, appeared in the cultural capital of Russia. Today this club, whose honorary president is the President of Russia, is considered the most titled sports club in the country, having won the European Championships six times.
In the early 2000s, Arkady Rotenberg's business began to develop rapidly and on a large scale. At that time, the future oligarch was part of the management of leading Russian companies, Talion, Rostelecom, Investcapital and Pipe Metal Rolling. The businessman carried out his commercial activities together with his younger brother Boris, who by that time had also built a professional sports career in Finland in the same area of martial arts as his brother.
Vladimir Putin and Arkady Rotenberg
By the mid-2000s, the Rotenberg brothers directed their business into the gas sector and began development at the all-Russian level. To do this, five construction companies were purchased from the Gazprom corporation, which by 2008 were merged into. At the same time, Arkady Vladimirovich became a monopolist in the supply of pipe products to the Russian market and began to expand his business towards the development of gas infrastructure. The total annual turnover of four construction companies of Arkady Rotenberg (Lengazspetsstroy, Spetsgazremstroy, Krasnodargazstroy and Volgogaz) reached 43.5 billion rubles.
A year later, Rotenberg began construction of a gas pipeline on the Black Sea coast. The pipe was laid through three settlements - Dzhubga, Lazarevskoye and Sochi. The contract was signed without a competition. During the same year, Arkady Rotenberg’s wards began construction of a gas pipeline on the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok branch.
Chairman of the Board of Directors Arkady Rotenberg
Rotenberg also owns an insurance company. Together with his brother Boris, Arkady becomes the main owner of shares in the Northern European Pipe Project (76%).
In 2010, Arkady Rotenberg’s assets were replenished with shares of road companies that received serious government orders for the construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg toll road. The route passed through the Khimki forest, despite public protests about the inadmissibility of disturbing the ecological balance in the area through deforestation.
The entrepreneur also participated in the construction of roads related to the preparation of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
Arkady Rotenberg
At the beginning of 2010, the gas pipe magnate took up his priority area in the field of oil and gas construction. The entrepreneur also expanded his assets in companies of the largest Russian manufacturers, which included ten alcohol industry enterprises belonging to Rosspirtprom OJSC.
In 2020, Rotenberg’s Stroygazmontazh holding received a general contract for the construction of the Kerch Bridge across the Strait, which became the largest project in the Russian Federation in recent years. The cost of the project amounted to 230 billion rubles.
Chairman of the Board of Directors Arkady Rotenberg
Arkady Rotenberg defended his doctoral dissertation in the field of pedagogy. The businessman, being a professional athlete, wrote 30 educational, methodological and scientific works, in which he touched upon the issues of organizing the training process. Since 2013, Arkady received a seat on the board of directors of OJSC Prosveshchenie Publishing House. A year later, Rotenberg became the owner of a controlling stake in the television group.
What is known about our hero’s childhood?
How did Arkady Rotenberg begin his life's journey? His biography, especially his origin, information about his parents, is a secret sealed with seven seals. Neither Arkady himself nor his brother Boris ever talk about their childhood. The only thing that is known for certain is that Arkasha grew up as an athletic boy, first engaged in acrobatics, and at the age of 12 he joined the judo section. Soon after this, Vova Putin, who was a year younger, also began going there. According to coach Anatoly Rakhlin, both boys were puny, so they competed in the same weight category and often trained in pairs, although they were not regular partners.
Vladimir Putin’s words are known about the impact that judo had on him. The same can be said in relation to our hero. But only for Arkady, sport for many years became not just a hobby, but a profession and even a science.
Personal life
Arkady Rotenberg's personal life is not as successful as his business. It is known that the entrepreneur was married twice, but family life in neither marriage became happy, as families fell apart, despite the presence of children.
From his first wife Galina, the oligarch had three children - sons Igor and Pavel and daughter Lilia, who already gave their father three grandchildren. Rotenberg’s son Igor, like his father, is involved in business, being the owner and co-owner of road construction, gas and energy companies. And Pavel has mastered the profession of a hockey player and is already playing for the Russian youth hockey team.
Arkady Rotenberg
In his second marriage to Natalya Rotenberg, the billionaire had two more children - Varvara and Arkady. In 2013, after being married for 8 years, the couple divorced. Rotenberg's second family settled in Great Britain. Natalya Rotenberg continues to be involved in charity work in the field of supporting children's sports and choreography schools, holding tournaments and competitions. The organization's headquarters is located in London, but this does not prevent Natalya from providing all possible assistance to her compatriots.
Thanks to the NR Foundation, choreography classes were restored at the Kurgan Art School in 2020. This attention of the oligarch’s ex-wife to the needs of the provincial town is explained by the fact that in 1995 Natalya herself graduated from the choreographic department of the Kurgan school.
In 2014, the billionaire came under anti-Russian sanctions due to the situation in Ukraine, so his financial assets in the EU were frozen. Rotenberg lost the opportunity to pay child support to younger children who remained under the care of their mother. Against the backdrop of the current situation, Natalya made property claims against her ex-husband.
He became a partner of GeoProMining on the plant project in Degtyarsk
Businessman Igor Rotenberg, the son of Arkady Rotenberg, became an investor in the project of a plant for the production of antimony in the Sverdlovsk region together with GeoProMining Siman Povarenkin. The enterprise, with a capacity of over 6 thousand tons of antimony per year, plans to displace metal imports from Russia and the CIS. But, for example, Norilsk Nickel, which owns a large antimony deposit in Transbaikalia, considers this business to be low-margin.
The owner of NPV Engineering and co-owner of Gazprom Bureniya, TEK Mosenergo, TPS-Real Estate and other assets, Igor Rotenberg, the eldest son of Arkady Rotenberg, at the end of 2014 received a 50% stake in LLC National Antimony Company (NSK), implementing a project for a plant for the production of antimony trioxide in Degtyarsk, Sverdlovsk region, Interfax reported yesterday with reference to SPARK data. According to SPARK and the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, until mid-November 2014, 100% of the shares of NSC belonged to GPM Khimresurs LLC, 98% of the shares of which, in turn, belong to Greenproject LLC, co-owned by the head of the board of directors of GeoProMining Siman Povarenkin and its CEO Roman Khudoliy. Since November 17, Greenproject received 49.96% of shares in the NSC, contributing 119.9 million rubles to the authorized capital, Igor Rotenberg - 50% of shares, contributing 120 million rubles.
A representative of Mr. Rotenberg confirmed his investment in NSC, refusing further comments; GeoProMining and Sberbank (since September 2014 owns 25.64% of GeoProMining through Sberbank Capital) yesterday could not answer Kommersant’s questions.
NSC, according to its own information, will invest 1 billion rubles in the plant in Degtyarsk; construction started in February of this year. Implementation of the project will take approximately one and a half years, the plant's capacity will be 5.8 thousand tons of antimony trioxide, 670 tons of metallic antimony and 230 kg of gold-containing alloy per year. Antimony is used for the production of batteries, solar panels, in civil and military electronics, metallurgy, is part of alloys for machine tools, automobile and railway transport, and is listed on the company’s website. According to her estimates, the launch of . “This is a very interesting and promising project,” says a source close to Igor Rotenberg.
The tar plant's needs for raw materials will amount to 10 thousand tons of gold-antimony concentrate per year, and GeoProMining already has its own raw material base - its Sarylakh-Surma OJSC and Zvezda OJSC are developing deposits of the same name in Yakutia. They produce only concentrate, which is transported through the port of Magadan (the buyers are not named), but GPM Khimresurs, controlled by GeoProMining shareholders, is engaged in trading antimony trioxide, purchasing raw materials in Asia, and calls itself the leading supplier of metal in the CIS (in Russia, according to its own estimates, occupied 50% at the end of 2013).
According to GPM Khimresurs estimates, global antimony production in 2013 amounted to 180 thousand tons, including 35 thousand tons from recycling; Russia accounted for only 7% of global production volumes (over 10 thousand tons), while China - 65%. At the same time, according to the US Geological Survey, confirmed world reserves of antimony amount to 1.76 million tons, of which China accounts for 45%, Russia - 20%, Bolivia - 18%, Kyrgyzstan - 7% (prospective antimony reserves are estimated at 3 .9 million tons, of which China accounts for 62%, Russia - 10%). Norilsk Nickel has a large Solonechenskoye antimony deposit in Transbaikalia (580 thousand tons of ore, 18% of all metal reserves in Russia), but the company does not plan to develop it due to low margins and, as Kommersant wrote, last fall it proposed a project to Chinese investors. So far, investors from the PRC have no interest in it, but at the end of 2014, Russia became the largest exporter of antimony ores and concentrates to China with a share of 28% (in total, the PRC imported 56.5 thousand tons).
Anatoly Dzhumailo
Arkady Rotenberg now
Western sanctions did not prevent Arkady Rotenberg from developing his business. The entrepreneur transferred the companies registered in the British Virgin Islands to his son. In 2020, Arkady became the founder of National Gas Group LLC together with Artem Obolensky. In 2020, on behalf of his own companies, he acquired shares in the sports and entertainment district “Park of Legends”.
Arkady and Boris Rotenberg
Now, thanks to the light hand of the Western media and Alexei Navalny, who regularly posts photos of oligarchs’ real estate on the Internet, Arkady and Boris Rotenberg are called “kings of government orders,” since the brothers receive top applications on behalf of the state. In 2020, the clan of Putin’s friends entered the top three wealthiest families in Russia. This number also included the Shamalov and Gutseriev families. The Rotenberg clan, which in addition to the brothers includes their eldest sons, Igor and Roman, owns a fortune of $2.8 billion.
Soviet coaching career
After graduating from the Rotenberg Institute, Arkady Romanovich began a long and stable period of work in various Leningrad sports organizations. He mainly trained children, teaching them sambo and judo fighting techniques, and was even the director of a youth sports school. He took his work very seriously, as evidenced by his master's and doctoral dissertations.
At that time, old friends left, and Vladimir Putin also left, who, after studying at the law faculty of Leningrad State University, served in the KGB and lived in Leningrad, Moscow, and from 1985 to 1990 in East Germany.
Communication with him resumed after Putin returned to Leningrad in 1990. He found an old friend and sparring partner and asked him to resume joint training in order to regain his previous athletic form. Arkady Rotenberg happily agreed, and they again began to fight on the tatami.
Career and business of Arkady Rotenberg
The next 15 years of life, after graduating from university, for Rotenberg were connected with coaching. His first business project was the SOVA cooperative, specializing in organizing wrestling competitions. Simultaneously with his work at Sova, in 1991, the entrepreneur became one of the co-founders of the Baltic Business Partners joint-stock company.
One of Arkady Rotenberg’s companions was his younger brother Boris, who worked in Helsinki by invitation. The company was engaged in the import of Finnish goods to Russia. International barter transactions affecting the interests of Gazprom brought the Rotenbergs their first large profits, and Arkady Romanovich gained fame among Russian businessmen.
Education
Having received a school education, Arkady Romanovich was called up for military service in the ranks of the Soviet Army, after which in 1973 he became a student at the Leningrad State University of Physical Culture. For a young man who had excellent physical development and was distinguished by far from mediocre intelligence, studying at this prestigious university did not present any problems, and in 1978 Rotenberg graduated from the university as a certified specialist.
While working as a trainer and moving in circles of entrepreneurs, Arkady Rotenberg found time for scientific activities.
This was directly confirmed by the defense of candidate and doctoral dissertations and, as a natural result, the academic degree of Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences.
