Fallen Jewish Oligarch Boris Berezovsky Found Dead, Amid Depression and Mystery
Unconfirmed Reports Say Rasputin of Putin Era Killed Self
From car salesman to Kremlin king-maker to billionaire political exile, Boris Berezovsky seemed to play a role in nearly every crucial scene in the roller coaster drama of post-Soviet Russia.
A mathematician by training, Berezovsky’s expertise at political calculus gave him power beyond his position in a career that made him many enemies - the most prominent of them Vladimir Putin, the man he helped bring to power.
The cause of his death was unclear and some reports said it was a suspected suicide, The Guardian reported. His mansion was only cleared for authorities after a sweep was made for chemical or radioactive materials suggesting it might have been deliberately contaminated.
In a country with a rich history of court intrigue and a reputation for opacity in the Kremlin from tsarist, his manoeuvring earned him comparison to Russia’s ultimate behind-the-scenes operator, the “mad monk” Grigory Rasputin.
Credited with a part in saving Boris Yeltsin’s political skin and shaping Putin into presidential material with the help of money and media, he was then blamed - formally or not - for dark episodes that followed his falling out with the Kremlin.
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http://forward.com/articles/173680/fallen-jewish-oligarch-boris-berezovsky-found-dead/?p=all#ixzz2OV7CZRO0
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