I would also say becoming rich because of crime, in a world wide fashion. I saw a History Channel "gangland" on the Russian Mod last night. They banned together just before the collapse of the Soviet State run govt.
It gave the history of the Thieves Union going back to the czar's.
Millionaires were made overnight right after the wall came down and the State went under..
It showed in a few cases from the FBI where the Russian and other former soviet military groups worked with the mob to sell arms. The mob had catalogs of all types of arms to sell. The most violent of all the mobs. And no real leadership below the top leaders, so when a few are arrested the system still works unlike the Italian or other mob groups. It was an hour worth ever minute for understanding todays Russia. A lot of history etc.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Mlurp, it's an old story. It was during the early 1990s right after the break up of the Soviet Union.
These people are loooooooong gone.... ALL OF THEM are in prison or fled Russia to Israel or Britain.
Today's Russia's rich are not them.

Russian Oligarchs Flee To Safety In Israel Yukos Oil Fugitives Find Safe
Haven In The Promised Land

The Financial Times - UK
By Harvey Morris
3-24-5


For the Russian government, they are allegedly dangerous criminals who have made off with billions in unpaid taxes and are wanted on charges that range from embezzlement to murder. For Israel, they are potential valued investors in the country's slowly reviving economy.

Two of Israel's normally publicity-shy Russian "oligarchs" this week surfaced to announce their first investment in Israel since they sought refuge there 18 months ago in the wake of the debacle over Yukos, the Russian oil company.

In an interview with the FT, Leonid Nevzlin and Michael Brudno, whose Menatep group owns 60 per cent of Yukos shares, outlined a business strategy based on the likelihood that they will not be returning to Russia anytime soon.
The two men live a hundred yards from each other in the affluent anonymity of Herzliya, an upscale suburb north of Tel Aviv. Propped against a wall of Mr. Nevzlin's living room is a "Free Khodorkovsky" placard in honour of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Yukos founder jailed in Russia in October, 2003 on tax evasion and fraud charges.

The two men and their partner, Vladimir Dubov, took out Israeli citizenship at about the same time, setting up home in Israel in the hope of avoiding extradition over their alleged role in the Yukos affair. As well as the fraud-related charges, Mr Nevzlin is also wanted in Russia for conspiracy to murder.

Mr Nevzlin rejected all the accusations against him and his partners and said they were part of an ideological campaign by Vladimir Putin, Russian president, against the Russian private sector. "It has been totally developed by the [former] KGB, which has a lack of tolerance for anything it does not control. This is a long-term consequence of Stalinism."

Yukos lost 60 per cent of its oil production capacity when the Russian government ordered it to sell off its main subsidiary in December to pay back-taxes. The buyer, state-owned Rosneft, has since filed an $11bn suit against Yukos.

Mr Nevzlin said: "The Yukos story is not over yet. The volume of illegal tax claims would be enough to confiscate the rest of the company."
Describing the Rosneft claim as "complete bull****", Mr Brudno claimed it had been filed on orders from the Kremlin. Announcing their investment in Israel, the two men said Menatep was acquiring a stake in the holding company of Israel Petroleum Enterprises.
They said they would be looking into further investments in fields within the group's area of expertise. Menatep already has about $100m invested in telecoms companies in eastern Europe.

Although the Russian tycoons have maintained a low profile since moving to Israel, they have not managed to escape controversy.
Mr Nevzlin's name was among those raised in connection with a current Israeli police investigation into the alleged laundering of at least $500m through a branch of Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest bank.

"I've had no problems with the authorities," he said. "Everything is quite
transparent if you look at my assets. So much time has passed since they started the investigation, they would have had a chance to look at my accounts."
In an indication of how important Israel regards investment, Benjamin
Netanyahu, finance minister, recently said the money-laundering case had been blown out of proportion.
"Israel will lose a lot if some TV viewers think that the country does not need immigrants from the former Soviet Union and can afford to reject investments," he told the RTV1 satellite channel, owned by Vladimir Gusinsky, an exiled Russian media magnate.

Russian Oligarchs Flee To Safety In Israel Yukos Oil Fugitives Find Safe Haven In The Promised Land